Community Briefing: More falling glass downtown; former medical center CEO begins prison term

Sunday

Nov 13, 2011 at 12:01 AMDec 12, 2018 at 8:41 AM

Travis County

Austin

Road reopens after glass falls

Falling glass near the 300 block of San Antonio Street prompted Austin police to block roadways, but the scene had already been cleared Saturday, officials said.

Austin police Cpl. Scott Perry said he didn't know from where glass fell or why. Neither the Police Department nor the Austin Fire Department, which did not respond to the incident, had further information.

— Ciara O'Rourke, American-Statesman staff

AUSTIN

City ranks high as military haven

The Austin metro area ranked fourth on USAA and Military.com's 2011 list of best places for military retirement.

The list gave Austin high marks for federal employment opportunities and military-skill-based jobs, as well as nearby military site amenities at Fort Hood and in San Antonio. The ranking was designed to make it easier for veterans to find jobs in the tough economic downturn.

Last year, Austin placed third on the list. Oklahoma City topped the list, followed by the Virginia cities of Norfolk and Richmond. San Antonio, the only other Texas city in the top 10, placed fifth.

— Jeremy Schwartz, American-Statesman staff

Austin

Technology focuses on education

The Austin Chamber of Commerce's Annual State of Education event last week focused on education technology, with a program featuring ideas intended to change education.

Wednesday's speakers included Connally High School teacher David Conover, who teaches a video game design course, and Paul Resta of the University of Texas College of Education, who is developing a research center to analyze and predict academic performance in an effort to help teachers improve instruction.

Austin school district Superintendent Meria Carstarphen received the chamber's Superintendent of the Year award.

— Laura Heinauer, American-Statesman staff

Westlake Hills

TCEQ OKs water system sale

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has given the go-ahead for sale of the Ridgewood Village Water System to Water District 10.

Officials with Water District 10 and the City of West Lake Hills have worked for more than two years with residents of the Ridgewood area, which covers 95 properties, and owners of the private water system to move ownership from the private company to the publicly controlled Water District 10.

TCEQ announced last week that the sale could move forward without a hearing, despite a letter of protest from a homeowner in the affected area.

Efforts to move the Ridgewood system to Water District 10 control began after severe restrictions were placed on the underground wells on which the Ridgewood system currently relies. Water District 10 will now move forward with construction on an interconnection between the two systems.

Construction on the project, located near Crestwood Court, is expected to begin later this year, and Water District 10 water will begin flowing through Ridgewood pipes by early next year.

— Esther Robards-Forbes, Westlake Picayune

Pflugerville

Interim water rates get approval

Judges at the State Office of Administrative Hearings ruled Tuesday to impose interim rates for customers of the eight Texas water utility companies involved in a potential merger with Monarch Utilities LP, rolling back rates for potential Monarch customers to where they were before Monarch's Aug. 1 application for a rate increase.

Windermere customers within Pflugerville city limits will not be affected by the interim rates because a City Council resolution prevented Monarch's proposed rates from affecting Pflugerville residents.

— James Rincon, Pflugerville Pflag

Steiner Ranch

School evacuated after gas leak

Steiner Ranch Elementary School evacuated hundreds of students onto Quinlan Park Road after a vehicle struck a gas meter behind the school Monday. An unidentified male driver struck a pipe at 8:49 a.m. in the employee parking lot, Travis County sheriff's office spokesman Roger Wade said.

"The man said his foot slipped off the brake pedal, and that's why he hit the meter," Wade said.

When employees smelled gas, they evacuated students to Quinlan Park Road. Travis County deputies and constables shut down the road for two hours as the district relocated students by bus to Laura Bush Elementary School. Leander school district officials estimate 600 to 700 students attend Steiner Ranch Elementary.

Lake Travis Fire Rescue stopped the leak, and Wade said Texas Gas Services was repairing the gas meter. There were no reports of illnesses or injuries.

— Devin Monk, Lake Travis View

Bee Cave

Consultation for wildfire victims

Residents from Travis and Williamson counties who are rebuilding after the wildfires can receive a free consultation with hazard mitigation advisers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency beginning Monday in Bee Cave.

The consultations will be available on a walk-in basis at Home Depot, 3600 RM 620 South, on Monday and Tuesday, and Thursday through Nov. 20. Advisers will be available to answer questions about protecting homes from future disaster-related damage, as well as to offer tips and techniques to build hazard-resistant homes.

Most of the information and the free publications provided are geared for do-it-yourself work and general contractors.

— Lake Travis View

Williamson County

Cedar Park

Convicted exec begins sentence

Abraham Martinez, former chief executive of Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, began serving a five-year prison term last month after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery related to federal funds and tax evasion during his tenure as CEO of Laredo Medical Center.

The charges surfaced earlier this year after a joint state and federal investigation found that Abraham Martinez and his wife, Argelia Martinez, ran a nearly four-year scheme requiring an anesthesiologist to pay them more than $95,000 to keep his contract with the Laredo hospital.

According to court documents, payments were made in the names of false Medicaid and Medicare patients and began in December 2005. The scheme continued to at least October 2008.

Argelia Martinez participated in the check-cashing scheme and under-reporting of the family's annual income on its federal tax report, according to the documents. The investigation led to tax evasion charges for the Martinezes.

Abraham Martinez received a five-year prison sentence, to be followed by three years' probation. Argelia Martinez was sentenced to three years of probation and 200 hours of community service.

They owe a combined $74,948 in restitution and a $50,000 fine.

— Cedar Park Citizen

Leander

Ex-student arrested for graffiti

Leander police arrested Franklin Phillips, a former Leander High School student, on felony graffiti charges Oct. 31 after he reportedly told police he had "tagged" the high school two weeks earlier.

According to police reports, Phillips, 19, and Jarid Miller were together when they decided to tag the rooftop skylights at Leander High School. Swastikas and other images were sprayed, painted and drawn using permanent markers, the report said.

Records state that a Crimestoppers tip led police to arrest Phillips, who lives in Jonestown. Miller, a 2011 Leander High School graduate, was not arrested, according to the report.

Leander school district spokeswoman Veronica Sopher said the school filed a police report when the vandalism was discovered Oct. 16, adding that the graffiti had been removed before school started.

Phillips' court date is set for Nov. 30.

— Heather Bonham, Leander Ledger

Round Rock

SWAT call ends peacefully

The Round Rock Police Department's SWAT team brought about a peaceful resolution after an apparently suicidal man barricaded himself in his home last week.

Officers responded to a call from an unidentified man on the department's suicide hotline about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday in the 2300 block of Friarcreek Loop, said Round Rock police Capt. Alain Babin.

Police extricated the man after three hours of trying to coax him out of the home, and no one was injured in the incident, he said.

— Lauri Zachry, Round Rock Leader

Hays County

HAYS COUNTY

Precinct boundaries approved

The Department of Justice has approved the county's map of new boundaries for four precincts.

An increase in growth over the past decade required the county to distribute the population more evenly among precincts. Some changes include the York Creek Meadows and Gonzales Estates subdivisions moving from Precinct 4 to Precinct 3, and Arroyo Ranch and Hometown Kyle subdivisions moving from Precinct 2 into Precinct 4.

The latter change was a contentious one among some members of the Kyle community, including Mayor Lucy Johnson, who said in the redistricting process that she didn't want Precinct 4 drawn into any part of Kyle.

The redistricting plan takes effect Jan. 1.

— Ciara O'Rourke, American-Statesman staff

San marcos

Texas State good for veterans

Military Times Edge, a magazine designed in part to help service members meet education goals, has ranked Texas State University 13th among the best four-year colleges and universities for veterans nationwide, university officials said.

The university was recognized for charging less than $250 per credit and providing a veterans office, among other benefits to veterans.

Texas State was also recently recognized by GI Jobs magazine as a military-friendly school for the third year in a row.

— Ciara O'Rourke, American-Statesman staff

Kyle

Boil-water notice lifted

A boil-water notice in effect since Thursday was lifted Saturday.

City officials had urged residents within a four-block area of the 600 block of Live Oak Street to boil their water before drinking after a water main broke. Repairs were completed Friday, but the city waited to test water samples for signs of bacteria. None was found.

— Ciara O'Rourke, American-Statesman staff

Bastrop County

Wildfires

Disaster recovery center to close

Wildfire survivors in Bastrop County have one more week to visit with state and federal specialists at the Disaster Recovery Center in their area. Although the center will close its doors at 6 p.m. Friday, those affected by the wildfires can still apply for federal assistance through Dec. 8.

It is not necessary for survivors to visit a recovery center in order to receive disaster assistance. Applicants will still be able to check on the status of an application, either by phone or online.

"We make the decision to close a recovery center when it appears survivors have gotten the information they need to begin their recovery," said coordinating officer Kevin Hannes of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Wildfire survivors in Bastrop can register with FEMA or check the status of their applications at 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. Assistants are available by phone from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.daily. Survivors can also register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via a Web-enabled phone at http://m.fema.gov.

— Bastrop Advertiser

Bastrop County

Commissioners extend burn ban

The Bastrop County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 last week at its regular meeting to make modifications to the county's burn ban and extend it for an additional 64 days. The changes add extra guidelines for outdoor welding, grinding, cutting or hot-works operations.

The guidelines direct anyone who plans to perform any of those activities to clear vegetation in the area in a 25-foot radius, wet down surfaces in the vicinity of the operation and prohibit any welding, grinding or cutting on critical fire danger or red flag days as designated by the National Weather Service.

People performing those activities will also be required to keep a cellphone and fire extinguisher on hand and use a dedicated fire watch to observe each welder, cutter or other worker to be sure the sparks aren't causing a danger.

— Eric Betts, Bastrop Advertiser

Central Texas

Wildfires

Fires prompt 8,000 notifications

The outbreak of wildfires across the 10-county Capital Area Council of Governments region has resulted in a dramatic increase in the use of the CAPCOG regional Emergency Notification System. The system allows local officials to notify residents and businesses by telephone of conditions that threaten lives or property.

During the first two days of the wildfire outbreak, the CAPCOG emergency notification system called more than 8,000 telephones to deliver emergency messages. The system delivered live messages to 25 percent of its calls and 70 percent received either a live message or a voice mail. Upward of 20,000 telephone numbers are registered for the service.

Through a Web-based application, people are able to register their cellular or VoIP telephone number to receive important public safety messages relating to locations of their choice, anywhere within the 10-county region. Those who register their cellphones and/or VoIP phones can register a single telephone for several addresses. To register, go to http://wireless.capcog.org/ENS/Intro.aspx.

Local officials issue warnings by outlining the threatened area on a computer-based map.